copaflyer

I flew to newark in business on United. Incoming flight was delayed 2 hours but still had "time" to get to the departing flight. Terminal C to Terminal A (Air Canada concourse) We went to the United lounge and were told we would have to take a bus to terminal A or have to go through security again. We took the shuttle but were dropped off at the wrong part in terminal a. Still had to go through security. Our Air Canada flight started to board and I asked a TSA agent if he could help and were told we would make the flight. I had my doubts but what can one do in line. We get the gate and the door is closed but the plane still there. I ask if we can get on the plane but told no but the gate agent wanted to see my bag tags as she never got my bags off prior. A few dozen bags had to be taken off to get my two out. Took about 25 minutes. The bag handler dropped my sons car seat on the tarmac and I brought it to the gate agents attention and at the time she was too busy in her words " not trying to get fired for having my bags on the plane". I told her that a car seat should never be dropped as it can lose its effectiveness in the event of a crash. There are no second chances.

After the flight departs we are put on stand by for the last flight of the night. After awhile during boarding I go up to the desk and ask about our status and was given two business seats. I make arrangements on the other end and am happy and over all will end well. Then I am called to the gate and told my seats were taken back as the flight was over sold in economy and they get priority. I am not sure but disappointed and frustrated I was told and given seats if that was not for sure. We do not make it on the plane and then we try to figure out our options. The only flight to where we want to go the next day with space is at 6am or 6:45pm or later. At this point I want to get a hotel and get a good sleep. We are offered another option of flying to Montreal that night and we have our choice of when to continue to our final destination. I agree to that and let them know I want the 11am flight. That gives us time to get a hotel room and make it back to the airport in the morning.

After we board the plane and just before the doors are closed the gate agent who gave me the two tickets for the previous direct flight tells me that our flight the next morning would be at 5:30 am and not 11am. He is gone right after that and only second to decide to off load or stay on the plane. Neither option is good but there is no time to get a hotel for 5 hours.

We arrive in Montreal and are lucky enough to confirm with an AC rep in Departures that are flight is for 5:30 the next morning but he cannot see if it can be changed. If he could have we still have got a hotel. When getting off the plane there were no gate agents.

To me there is 3 issues here. Dropping the car seat, being denied boarding after being given tickets, and agreeing to a plan to get home and then AC changing it at the last minute.

I actually like flying but would never want to work at an airport as it seems like a thankless job.

YXUhomebase

Sorry to hear of the troubles. I do find flying AC at Newark to be a real pain if you are connecting. As far as I know there is no way to avoid going through security again if you fly AC and connect to united or vice versa. There is no bus that goes to that part of terminal A.

The new ML lounge in A is a nice bonus but I try to avoid using AC out of Newark unless Newark is my final destination. I have had some close calls connecting, and once the TSA person was very nice and escorted me to front of line, because even with precheck the line was pretty long!

Wpgjetse

Long story, but you were not involuntary denied boarding. You were just late and missed the cut off time of the flight.

canadiancow

I wasn't quite sure of the timeline.

I think it was handled poorly (you don't give someone a BP and then take it away), but I'd like to know what time OP made it to the gate, and what the scheduled departure time was.

This is a big wall of text that isn't quite relevant, because it's a pretty objective determination as to whether you misconnected or were denied boarding.

1Newflyer

If they had time to offload, then he should have been boarded. Obviously the fact that luggage was still on board means they were waiting for pax. Or the policy was not followed.

moorw003

One always feels a sense of bloody-mindedness on the part of somebody (the gate agent, handlers or company policy?) when a final boarding call is made saying "Mr and Mrs x to gate y now, the flight is about to leave and your luggage will be removed". Said pax for whatever reason get to the gate 30 seconds after that cut-off, are denied boarding but the plane is held up 20-30 minutes whilst the luggage comes off.

I know it isn't simple, and the bigger the plane the bigger the red tape, but I do wonder whether something can change and the process be reversed.

copaflyer

I am talking in regards to the flight I was put on standby, given seats the they were taken away to accomodate people with economy tickets for that flight.

172pilot

I believe this is what happened:

You were delayed and misconnected. AC off-loaded you from the flight. They would normally protect you on the next flight but it was either sold out in Y or over-booked. They put you on stand-by instead. The stand-by should only be cleared after the check-in cut off. This way they know exactly how many seats are available. The agent was over zealous, saw available seats in J and cleared your standby. Once check-in was complete, they were now in an overbooked situation because they cleared your standby. They needed your seats for passengers that held confirmed seats on that flight and thus they took away your BPs.

This is not IDB. AC did follow the rules. The mistake was that the agent should never have given you the J BPs before check-in was completed.

copaflyer

Missed the first connection. No doubt about that. The second flight we were on standby but were given tickets at which point I made arrangements based on that. Then those seats were taken away from us.

sram

"After awhile during boarding I go up to the desk and ask about our status and was given two business seats" Its not entirely clear, were you handed BP's? or the GA verbally told you you'd have seats on the flight?
Usually, missing your fight puts you at the bottom of the list for stby, especially when other stby's are missed cnx or cancellations.

canadiancow

Given how standby is handled in the system, I don't think you ever had a "confirmed reservation" for the second flight.

So I don't think it would technically count as IDB.

There are a lot of technicalities around IDB, and "confirmed reservation" is one of them.

172pilot

Agreed. The only mistake made was the issuing of the J BPs before check-in was completed.

Wpgjetse

This is very common with all airlines, when there is a misconnect because the BP is issued at the time of check in for the first segment. In this case, UA would have issued the PB.

Wpgjetse

No, Once door is closed, all the paper work is completed and flight is considered departed. It can not be reopened without doing all the paperwork over again. Plus, the airline will usually be fined by the airport for departure if they reopen the flight. With regards to policy, AC did follow normal policy.

Wpgjetse

Yes, It is all about the process. Once the flight closed, the paperwork is completed.